Your Right to Know

A Dayton-area school superintendent who is facing criminal charges stemming from his opposition to Gov. John Kasich’s school-funding plan is using his students as “political pawns,” according to a spokesman for the governor.

“Children aren’t political pawns, and the fact that the superintendent would use them as pawns is further proof that the system has lost its way,” Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said. "Buildings, equipment and adult employees in our schools all exist to serve children, not the other way around.”< /p>

The Warren County prosecutor is investigating allegations that Franklin School District Superintendent Arnol F. Elam might have used school resources for political activity.

The inquiry is focused on a letter Elam sent to parents this week criticizing Kasich’s proposal and urging them to join “in an active campaign to ensure Gov. Kasich and any legislator who supports him are not re-elected.” The letter also was posted on the district website, although it has since been edited to remove the statement.

State Democrats called the investigation a witch hunt.

“It’s convenient Gov. Kasich can call upon his contributors to launch a politically motivated witch hunt against those that have the nerve to speak out against the governor’s plan to decimate school funding to pay for a handout to the wealthy,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern. “It sends a disturbing message to the people of Ohio that Kasich’s friends might abuse government resources to punish this superintendent who is simply standing up for local school funding that the governor has stripped away.”

Prosecutor David P. Fornshell did not respond to messages seeking comment. The former Warren County GOP chairman has contributed $750 to Kasich’s campaign and hundreds more to other Republican candidates and committees, according to the Ohio secretary of state.

Elam also did not return a call seeking comment. He told The Middletown Journal this week that “it was not my intent to break the law. It was my intent to inform our citizens of the gravity of the governor’s budget on education.”

Yesterday, the Franklin Board of Education released a statement supporting Elam and his characterization of Kasich’s plan.

“The board of education was extremely disappointed that it would see no increase in state funding given that the governor publicly characterized his plan as being beneficial to poorer districts like ours. Although the board of education does not believe that any laws have been violated, it must refrain from commenting further on this matter given that the Warren County prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation.”

Kasich’s proposal has drawn fire because a number of high-wealth districts would receive significant increases in state aid while most poor districts, including Franklin, would get none. Overall, 60 percent of Ohio’s 612 school districts would be flat-funded.

“Gov. John Kasich was untruthful last week, and in doing so, finally clarified that kids in poor school districts don’t count,“ Elam wrote in the letter.

Like other educators, Elam cited the promise the governor made to school superintendents the week before: “If you’re poor, you’re going to get more. If you are rich, you’re going to get less.” Instead, once actual numbers were finally released by the Kasich administration, the plan “outlines a distribution nearly opposite to what’s stated above,” Elam said.Kasich’s advisors say that poorer districts are getting a bigger share of the funding.

Kirk Hamilton, executive director of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, said “the tenor of (Elam’s) message is the same disappointment that lots of lower-wealth districts have shared.”